Newly merged VodafoneThree vows to eradicate mobile ‘not spots'
VodafoneThree, the newly-merged telecoms giant, has vowed to banish weak mobile phone signals across swathes of rural Britain by the year-end as it pours £11bn into 5G.
The company, formed by a £15bn tie-up between Vodafone and Three earlier this month, vowed to fix 16,500 square kilometre of so-called mobile 'not-spots' over the next six months so people can get better phone signals.
The area targeted for improvement is around ten times the size of London while bosses have also set a target of reaching 95pc geographic coverage and total population coverage by 2034 under ambitious plans revealed as part of the merger.
Max Taylor, chief executive of VodafoneThree, said the tie-up would 'set a new benchmark for mobile quality' and encouraged rivals, including BT's EE, to follow suit.
He said: 'For too long we've been languishing behind on the global connectivity stage and quite frankly the industry needed a change.
'This will set a new standard and it will be great for consumers and the country if the others follow.'
Mobile network operators have come under increasing pressure from ministers amid concerns about patchy signal and misleading coverage maps.
VodafoneThree has promised to invest £11bn in its 5G network over the next decade – including £1.3bn in its first year – as part of a package of remedies agreed with competition regulators.
The company said the merger would initially help to tackle not-spots in rural areas as the merger brings together mobile masts belonging to Vodafone and Three into a single network.
Three customers are expected to enjoy an upgraded service 'within weeks', while the remainder of the group's 27m customers will see the benefits in the coming months and years.
VodafoneThree is also aiming to boost its coverage in the most remote regions through a new satellite venture.
It will launch trials of the service, which will beam broadband connections directly to smartphones, within the next year – after inking a deal with Texas-based AST Space Mobile.
VodafoneThree will continue to operate with multiple consumer brands, including Voxi and Smarty. However, analysts expect the company to gradually phase out the Three brand.
It has already scrapped the Three brand for business customers, while Vodafone will be the only brand for customers buying both mobile and broadband services.
Bosses said the combined company will create a major new challenger in the broadband market. It has struck a partnership with London-based broadband firm Community Fibre, adding to its existing agreements with BT's Openreach and CityFibre.
The company has also pledged to improve customer service, opening new call centres in Belfast and Sheffield and launching a new policy dubbed 'Just Ask Once' that will allow subscribers to leave without penalty if they are not satisfied.
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